Core Marketing Concepts and Tourism Terminology

Posted on Jan 7, 2026 in Marketing

Core Marketing Concepts

Marketing: The process of creating, communicating, and delivering value to satisfy customer needs profitably.

Fundamental Needs and Desires

  • Needs: Basic human requirements such as rest, safety, or belonging.
  • Wants: Shaped by culture and personality; how people choose to satisfy their needs.
  • Demand: Wants backed by purchasing power and willingness to pay.

Customer Relationship Metrics

  • Customer Value: The difference between perceived benefits and total costs.
  • Customer Satisfaction: A comparison between expectations and actual experience.

Marketing Philosophies

  • Societal Marketing: A philosophy that balances company profits, customer satisfaction, and social welfare.
  • Demarketing: Deliberate effort to reduce demand (e.g., to manage overtourism).

Market Environment Analysis

Environmental Factors

  • Microenvironment: Actors close to the company (customers, suppliers, intermediaries, competitors, publics).
  • Macroenvironment: Broader forces affecting the market (Political, Economic, Social, Technological, Environmental, Legal — PESTEL).

Demand Dynamics

  • Elasticity of Demand: Measures how demand responds to price changes.
  • Tourism Demand: The total number of people willing and able to travel.
  • Demand Forecasting: Estimating future demand to guide decision-making.

Consumer Behavior and Planning

Consumer Decision Making

  • Consumer Behavior: How individuals choose, use, and evaluate tourism products.
  • Black Box (of the Consumer): The internal psychological and personal processes that influence buying decisions.

Marketing Planning Process

  • Marketing Plan: A strategic document outlining objectives, analysis, strategies, actions, and controls.
  • Mission Statement: The organization’s purpose, focused on customer value rather than products.
  • Internal Analysis: Evaluation of a company’s resources, strengths, and weaknesses.
  • External Analysis: Study of market trends, competition, and environmental factors.
  • SWOT Analysis: Identification of strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats.
  • SMART Objectives: Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound goals.
  • Strategy: The general plan of action to reach marketing objectives.
  • Action Program: Specific tasks, responsibilities, and deadlines to execute strategies.
  • Control Phase: Comparing results with objectives and applying corrective actions.

Market Research and Targeting

  • Market Research: Systematic data collection to support marketing decisions.
  • Segmentation: Dividing the market into groups with similar characteristics.
  • Targeting: Selecting the most attractive segments to focus marketing efforts on.
  • Positioning: Creating a clear, distinctive image in the customer’s mind.
  • Value Proposition: The unique value promised to the target customer.
  • Differentiation: Making the product stand out through unique features or benefits.

The Tourism Product

Product Components

  • Tourism Product: A combination of services and experiences that fulfill a tourist’s needs.
  • Core Product: The fundamental benefit the tourist seeks.
  • Actual Product: The tangible components of the offer (facilities, brand, design).
  • Augmented Product: Additional services that enhance the experience (loyalty programs, extras).

Service Characteristics

  • Intangibility: Services cannot be touched, stored, or owned before purchase.
  • Inseparability: Services are produced and consumed at the same time.
  • Heterogeneity: Service quality may vary by person, time, and place.
  • Perishability: Unsold services cannot be stored or recovered.

Pricing Strategies

Price Fundamentals

  • Price: The amount a customer pays for a product or service.
  • Total Cost: The sum of fixed and variable costs.
  • Perceived Value: The customer’s perception of the product’s worth.
  • Value-Based Pricing: Setting price based on perceived customer value rather than just cost.

Specific Pricing Tactics

  • Penetration Pricing: Setting low prices to gain market share quickly.
  • Price Skimming: Charging high prices initially to attract early adopters.
  • Psychological Pricing: Setting prices to influence perceptions (e.g., $9.99).

Distribution Channels

  • Distribution Channel: The path a product follows to reach the customer.
  • Intermediaries: Agents like tour operators or Online Travel Agencies (OTAs).
  • Disintermediation: Eliminating intermediaries by selling directly.
  • Reintermediation: New digital intermediaries emerge to add value (e.g., metasearch engines).
  • Direct Channels: Sales handled by the company itself (website, call center).
  • Indirect Channels: Sales through third parties.

Promotion and Communication

  • Promotion: Communication activities that inform, persuade, or remind customers.
  • Advertising: Paid mass communication.
  • Public Relations: Building a positive image through non-paid media (events, press).
  • Personal Selling: Direct interaction between seller and buyer.
  • Sales Promotion: Short-term incentives (discounts, coupons, packages).
  • Digital Marketing: Online tools used to engage and convert customers.
  • Integrated Marketing Communication: Coordinating all promotional tools to deliver a unified message.
  • AIDA Model: A framework to guide promotion: Attention, Interest, Desire, Action.
  • Internal Marketing: Ensuring employees understand and support the marketing goals.
  • Content Marketing: Creating and sharing valuable content to attract and retain customers.

Key Performance Metrics

  • Buyer Decision Process: The stages consumers go through before and after purchase.
  • Customer Lifetime Value: The total profit a customer brings over their entire relationship with a company.
  • Publics: Any group that has an interest in or impact on the company’s ability to achieve its objectives.
  • KPIs: Metrics used to evaluate success and monitor marketing performance.
Mathematical Formulas (Context Required)

These formulas likely relate to cost analysis, break-even points, or pricing models:

bP = Vc + Fc / Q

tP = Vc + Fc / Q + (r × K) / Q

K = [(LP − Vc − Fc / Q) × Q] / r

VP = ∑ (Weight × Score) (Note: The Spanish notation (Peso₁ × Puntuación₁) + (Peso₂ × Puntuación₂)... is preserved.)

These formulas appear related to competitive pricing or value indexing:

APV = 100 / nº de competidores

APV = (VP₁ + VP₂ + VP₃ + ... + VPn) / n

PVI = VP / APV

VBP = PVI × APM

VBP = PVI × Precio del mercado